


We Could Be Heroes

by Pierulestheworld



Series: Future Young Justice [1]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Justice Society of America (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Future Fic, Gen, Next Generation, Next-Gen, Other characters appear but not important enough to tag, Pre-Reboot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 08:23:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12553276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pierulestheworld/pseuds/Pierulestheworld
Summary: Jai doesn't have powers anymore, but that doesn't mean he can't be a hero.





	We Could Be Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> 90% of this was written 2 years ago and I have no excuse for it staying a wip so long. This is based on some posts I saw on tumblr years ago that I have no idea how to find again, but also because I really really love the JSA and wanted to write something with them.
> 
> If anyone sees anything wrong, please tell me! It's been sort of checked over, but I wanted to get this out and posted after it being a wip for so long, so maybe not in the most thorough way.

_Keystone City, Kansas  
May 2, 2013_

Jai stuck his tongue out and raised his phone over his head as he tried to out shoot the villains in his game. A small explosion sounded from the game, and a screen popped up declaring he had won the boss fight and showing how much he had leveled up.

"Yes!" Jai crowed, relaxing into the couch.

"And now that you've won the battle, how about you help me with finishing dinner?" Joan Garrick's voice asked from the kitchen doorway.

The West family had been at the Garricks’ for a friendly visit when a report came on the news about the Weather Wizard and the Trickster robbing some fancy business convention. Jay, Wally, and Iris had immediately suited up and zoomed out, while Linda made a few calls and left.

That left Jai and Joan alone in the house, worrying over their family. Joan had gone back to her cooking, more or less used to her family putting themselves into harm’s way after all the years, while Jai had taken out his phone and played various apps to keep himself calm. It had worked for a bit. Putting his whole being into trying to beat the boss made him lose track of time and forget his family was in danger, but it all came back now that he was done.

He got up and silently went to help Joan. 

-x-x-x-

_May 4, 2013_

Irey took a deep breathe, "Jaaaaaaaiiiiiiiii-"

Jai clapped his hand over her mouth and gave her a Look. "I’m right next to you. What?"

Iris was uncharacteristically serious. "I wanted to know why you’re so grumpy lately. You've been ignoring everyone and playing on your phone while looking really angry and upset. I wanted to know what's wrong." His sister stared at him with eyes that would put a puppy to shame.

Good thing Jai prefers reptiles.

So, he studiously ignored Iris and turned in his chair so he wouldn't have to face her.

Irey's face fell. "Is... is it because you don't have powers anymore? You started being super closed off after we left the Garrick's to fight the Rogues two days ago."

Jai stiffened slightly and Irey knew she was right. She wasn't the most observant person, but she knows her brother. The last few years, Jai has tried to act like the fact he wasn't connected to the Speed Force anymore didn't bother him, but it did. It really, really did.

He felt like he couldn’t connect to half his family anymore. The period after his birth was so chaotic, but Jai could always count on being with his dad and helping him with Speed Force shenanigans. It was something that had brought Wally, Jai, and Irey close, something they could all bond over. And then Irey removed his connection in the name of helping him.

Jai didn’t blame her, at least he told himself he didn’t. But the part of him that was the childish nine-year-old he pretended he wasn’t, _did_ blame her. Suddenly, it felt like he couldn’t bond, at least properly, with the two of them anymore. Of course, there was his mom and Linda didn’t have powers and she was still awesome, but it was a different situation. The way Jai had related to the world _and_ to his dad for as long as he could remember was torn from him, and he still wasn’t used to it being different.

Iris, who maybe had guessed this, maybe had not, clasped her hands on the table and stared.

-x-x-x-

_May 23, 2013_

Iris bobbed in front of Jai with a huge smile. They had been quietly walking home from school through the various suburbs of Keystone when Iris started bouncing up and down while grinning like a maniac.

"I solved the problem!" She whispered excitedly.

Jai scrunched his nose in confusion. "There was a problem?"

"Your mopey-ness, stupid!" She said with that grin still on. "I figured out how you can be a hero too!"

Jai looked down and paused before he replied. "Unless you can give me super speed, or my old strength, then I don't see what use I would be."

Irey was literally jumping in her spot but still whispering. "But that's just it! You don't need super speed, you can be like Uncle Dick or Roy."

Jai stopped to stare at Irey sourly. "Like I hadn’t thought of that before. But, I don’t have any training. If I went into the field, I’d, like, die on the first day."

Of course he had thought of that. More than a few times he had considered trying to be a hero like Nightwing or Red Arrow. Those two were around his family constantly, there was no way it couldn’t have crossed his mind. But he knew the intense training that was needed to be able to have no powers and still fight super villains. He had nowhere near that much skill, nor did he have anyone to teach him it.

Or at least, none who wouldn't tell his dad. Wally seemed to prefer Jai not risking his life heroing, and who knew if he’d be alright with Jai getting training specifically to go into heroing.

Iris beamed like she couldn't see a problem in that statement. "Sure, you don’t _now_ , but I know how you can get some!"

"How?"

"Okay, so. Dad was talking to Mom about how he was talking to Uncle Roy and Uncle Dick and _they_ were talking about training and how the people who trained them were both trained by the same guy and mentioned how they were surprised he was still alive, since, he's been around since the _forties_ and Dad was telling Mom that he had to go around to Grandpa Jay's at some point to ask how that guy was still young after all this time and still able to be a superhero and be able to do all those moves and take hits and I thought, wow, he taught all those other heroes, then he could _definitely_ teach Jai and then we could be the bestest heroes together!"

Irey towards the end had started to go into speed speak. Jai stared at her blankly. "I only caught, like, half of that."

Iris rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Wildcat, dummy! Let Wildcat train you like he trained Batman and Black Canary!"

This caused a small balloon of hope to fill in Jai’s chest. He knew of Wildcat, and from what he did know, he didn’t seem the type that would turn Jai away, or tell his dad.

The two went inside continuing their chat happily as their neighbor stared after them. "What strange kids."

-x-x-x-

_May 28, 2013_

Jay looked down at his pseudo-grandkids and wondered if he should be amused or worried about what they were asking of him. As another chorus of 'pleeeaaase' started up, Jay sighed mentally. Oh, well. He would just tell Wally he was ambushed by a double dose of doe eyes. No one could withstand that.

After speeding to New York, Jay and Iris slowed as the trees thinned out and revealed the new Justice Society of America headquarters. It used to be in the city, above the Justice Society museum, but after villains had blown up the building a few too many times, they had gotten the hint and made headquarters somewhere else.

A few yards away from the door, Jay slowed and let Jai wriggle out of his arms. With a kid holding each hand, the three walked into the building. The first place they headed to was the kitchen, and inside Stargirl and Lightning were talking while eating some leftover cookies. Both looked up and smiled at the sight of Jay leading the two children around the base.

"What's the tour for?" Stargirl asked, swallowing a bite of her cookie. She slid the platter the other side of the counter, and the twins took that as initiative to start shoveling food into their mouths.

Jay gave her his patented fatherly Look. "Don't you have final exams coming up in a few days?"

Stargirl sighed. "Yeah, and I was just leaving to go study. Wanna come, Jen?"

Lightning shrugged and grabbed a cookie. "Sure, I have to study for AP anyways. Bye Jay and little kids I don't know."

With their cookie fixings satisfied, the trio went down to the lower levels that housed the gym. Surprising no one, in the gym was Ted Grant cleaning various supplies and bantering with his son.  Both turned around when the door clanging shut echoed throughout the large room.

"Well, it's Jay and the little speedlets. What're you three doin' down here?"

Jay opened his mouth to reply but Jai beat him too it. He stared directly at Tom, who was lounging in a nearby chair. "It's a _secret_."

Tom stifled a laugh and got up from his seat. "Well, I see I'm not wanted. I'll see you later Pops."

Ted raised an eyebrow at Jay who shrugged half-heartedly. Jai and Iris stared at Tom as he walked out and didn't turn around to talk until they saw the heavy door shut fully again.

Putting away the cleaning supplies, Ted walked over. "Alright, I'm game. What's this 'secret' yer talking about?"

Jay nudged Jai who was suddenly getting a bad case of nerves and doubts. What if he said no? What if him becoming a hero was just a bad idea in general and never meant to be? He opened his mouth and then closed it again.

Luckily, Irey understood his problems and stepped forward. "You trained Batman and Black Canary and lots of others, right?"

Wildcat nodded, a hint understanding coming to him. "Those two, the first Batgirl, both Catwomen, them ‘lots of others’ you mentioned."

Irey's eyes went wide. "Woah, Catwoman and Batgirl too? That is so cool!"

"I am cool, aren't I," Ted smirked.

"You're just a picture of modesty, Ted." Jay replied dryly. He smiled down at Jai who was trying to edge behind the older speedster. "Now, Jai here wanted to ask you a question. Don't be getting shy now, son."

Ted got down on his knees to be eye-level with Jai. "No need t'be afraid, kid. I'm just an old boxer."

Jai bit his lip and then stepped out from behind Jay, trying to fake some confidence. "I wanted to know if you would teach me how to fight, sir? My dad and my sister and, like, all my family are superheroes, and I wanna be one too, but I don't have any superpowers and if I wanna get by without any, I need to know how to fight and-"

Jai broke off and looked down at his shoes, shuffling them slightly.

Ted laughed, standing up. He slapped Jai on the shoulder and then pulled him to his side to noogie him. "'Course I'll teach you, kid. It's my job to whip wimps into shape."

Iris threw her hands in the air. "Yes! Training montage!"

-x-x-x-

_JSA Headquarters, New York  
September 15, 2013_

Jai was staring intently at Ted showing him how to do the move properly when the door opened and his dad walked in. Wally cleared his throat and both turned from their place on the mat to look towards the door.

Ted coughed awkwardly. "Damn, we've been found out. I'll just leave."

Jai wasn't sure what to think. His dad didn't look mad, but it was easy to hide emotions. He bit his lip and looked down. "I just wanted to be a superhero like you!"

Wally looked taken back before his expressions softened. "Jai, I'm not upset at you for wanting to learn how to fight, I'm upset at the fact that you thought you had to keep it from me and your mom. You know we both will support you with whatever you want to do."

Jai looked back up. "Really?"

Wally grinned. "Of course. We want you to be happy and if trying to be a normal superhero is what makes you happy, then we'll go with it."

"So, can I go back to my lesson?" Jai smiled hesitantly at his dad.

A cheerful laugh came from Wally. "Of course not! You are, starting now, grounded. You lied to us, which is a big no-no you know-know."

Jai groaned as his dad whistled and led him out of the gym.

-x-x-x-

_January 25, 2014_

Ted grunted, and fell back onto a chair next to the boxing ring. He half-heartedly pointed a finger in Judomaster's direction. "One of these days, I'm going to be able to hit you."

Sonia gave a small smirk. "Probably not."

He grumbled something incoherent and looked over to where Jai was staring at Sonia with wide eyes. "I think the kid was impressed at least."

"How do you do that?" Jai blurted out. Jai had come for their weekly training session, and when he had gone down to the gym, he had seen Ted and Sonia fighting in the ring. Sonia had been like water, always moving and fluid, unable to be hit or touched. For almost 30 minutes Jai had watched in awe as Ted tried his best to punch her and she moved gracefully out of his way, then actually gave what he tried to give.

"I have a force field of a sort surrounding my body, protecting me from any direct hits. I don't know how it came to be. I was just born with the ability." Sonia explained.

"Can you teach me?" Jai asked. "I mean, not the force field thing, obviously, but the martial arts? Please? That looks so cool."

Sonia hesitated for a second before a small smile came onto her face. "Of course. If it is alright with Wildcat, as he is your usual teacher."

Ted harrumphed and waved his hand around. "Fine with me. I was gonna claim my tired old man card anyways after that fight."

_July 7, 2014_

Jai sat idly on a stool in the kitchen, absent-mindedly munching on one of Ma Hunkel's cookies. He had come for a lesson, but Wildcat had cancelled last minute, mentioning something about a kitten in Gotham needing his help. That had left Jai converging onto the kitchen for snacks. He had seen several members walk by the door, but the only one to also be in the kitchen was Mr. Terrific, who was studiously typing away at something on his laptop. Jai was trying to see what he was typing without being too obvious about it, when one of the T-Spheres flew into his face.

"Ahh!" Jai jerked back in surprise as the T-Sphere flew back to Mr. Terrific.

He finally looked up. "Sorry about that. My spheres are meant to discourage anyone from trying to see what I'm doing. Secret government stuff."

"It's okay. I’m sorry for trying to peak at it." Jai replied. "How do they work?"

Mr. Terrific looked mildly annoyed at being interrupted, but he answered Jai patiently anyways. "They’re attuned to my brainwaves to follow both my thoughts and voice commands."

"How do they fly?" This time, Jai leaned forward when one of the T-Spheres flew near his head. "Do your brainwaves make them fly too?"

"Well...."

_November 14, 2014_

Jai had been helping Mr. Terrific with reprogramming one of the JSA's old computers when he caught sight of her. He stood up abruptly and muttered an apology to Mr. Terrific before hurrying out to catch up with Jesse Quick.

In his year and a half of learning from the Justice Society, Jesse had been one of the people he wanted to talk to most. But between her civilian job and her new family, she hadn't been around much. Add to the fact that she almost never came to speedster meet ups, and Jai was beginning to get frustrated.

"Mrs. Jesse," he yelled as he chases after her.

She turned around at her name being called with an eyebrow raised. "Hello, Jai. How are you?"

Jai slowed as he reaches her. "I, uh, I wanted to ask you a question. You get super speed through an equation, right?"

Now both eyebrows were raised as she stared at Jai. "Yes, and...?"

"Would you teach it to me, please?"

Jesse ran her hand through her hair. "I thought that was where you were going. Your dad has super speed, so you must have some sort of connection to the speed force even without having powers, and you could _possibly_ use the formula, but it's not as easy as that. My dad started teaching it to me when I was little, but it wasn't until I was in my late teens that I would be able to actually use it."

"So, I need training. That's what I'm here for." He gave her a big grin.

She gave him a small smile in return. "Maybe."

_March 18, 2015_

Jai was unwrapping the tape from his hands when an explosion rocked the building.

Wildcat immediately turned to look at him. "Kid, stay here in the gym and hide. If anyone comes down, _don't do anything_."

Jai nodded, and Wildcat leaped out the door and up the stairs to see what was happening. While there was a twinge of fear at the building being attacked, Jai honestly wasn't surprised. In fact, he was more surprised that it had taken almost two years for him to be at the base the same time it was attacked.

He actually listened to Wildcat's advice and stayed down in the gym. If some team like the Injustice Society was attacking, then there wasn't much an unpowered, almost eleven-year-old could do by himself.

He stayed on the far side of the gym, opposite of the only doors that led down into it. It wasn’t long until another explosion rattled everything, and even less time after that when the door to the gym was thrown off its hinges and Hourman along with it.

Jai tried not to panic. His first instinct was to check on Hourman, but Wildcat said to stay hidden. Jai didn’t seem to hear any movement, except for someone walking down the stairs.

“Aw, unconscious already? I thought that Miraclo would make you tougher than that.”

Jai identified the voice as belonging to the second Icicle. Jai thought wildly on what he knew about him. Cameron Mahkent. His dad was the first Icicle, and Cameron has been the new one since he was a teenager. Unlike his dad, who used an ice gun, he was made from ice.

_Now what is there to help against him here_ , thought Jai looking around wildly as Icicle continued to gloat.

His eyes fell on a fire extinguisher that was only a few feet in behind him. Maybe he could…

A crackling sound, Hourman grunting, and the room dropping in temperature made him act. He lunged and grabbed the extinguisher off the wall and stood up. Icicle didn’t notice him until Jai pulled the pin and let the extinguisher spray a stream that hit Icicle right in the face.

“Wha—hey!” Icicle stumbled back, not expecting to get a face full of pressurized water.

Jai wasted no time. He jumped into the boxing ring, ran across it, and when he reached the other side, threw the fire extinguisher as hard as he could at Icicle’s head. He wanted to hit him while he was still blinded and sputtering. Jai’s aim was a bit off, not used to throwing heavy weights, but he still managed to get half of the extinguisher to hit Icicle, and the villain dropped to the floor.

There was a pause as Jai took a deep breath, then he looked down at where the gym door, and Hourman, were right below Jai. Hourman seemed to still be staring at Icicle in shock, before looking up at Jai, then at his legs encased in ice. Jai had time to think that maybe Hourman had a concussion from his sluggish behaviour, when Wildcat jumped down the stairs.

He took one look at the scene and snorted in laughter. “Good job, kid.”

-x-x-x-

_Keystone City, Kansas  
July 11, 2016_

"Jaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiii! Guess what, guess what, _guess_ _whaaaat_!"

"Chicken butt?"

"No! Well, _yes_ , but no!"

"What then?"

"I joined a team! It's made up of other kids of superheroes, like us, and Lian, and others."

"Cool. That sounds like it is probably gonna lead to tons of dangerous shenanigans and parental disapproval."

"Totally!"

And well, I wanted to know if you would join? It'd be lots of fun, and they're all a bit older, but still around our age and we'd be together and that'd be awesome ‘cause we’re awesome."

"Sorry, Irey, but I already have a team."


End file.
